By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Topeka West, winners of three of its last four games, hosted the Lansing Lions in a United Kansas Conference matchup Tuesday night, looking to keep its momentum going.
Senior Teairra Gonzales led a balanced attack with 14 points in Topeka West's 52-16 home UKC win over Lansing Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
And the Chargers achieved that goal in dominant fashion, rolling to a 52-16 victory.
“We have been playing some good basketball here lately,” said West coach Angie Ketterman.
The Chargers got off to a strong start as senior Patience Allen opened the scoring with two free throws for the early lead.
Lansing answered with a 3-pointer to briefly go ahead, but Allen quickly responded with a personal 6-0 run to give West a 9-5 advantage.
Teairra Gonzales then added five quick points to push the lead to 15-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Allen scored eight of her 13 points in the opening frame.
“I was getting open looks, and coach had been telling me that I need to be more aggressive and if I am open to take the shot,” Allen said.
Lansing struck first in the second quarter, but the Chargers responded with a 15-5 run.
Gonzales led the charge, scoring seven of her game-high 14 points in the quarter.
“Coach kept telling us to get off to a big start and go from there, get open looks and be aggressive,” Gonzales said.
Topeka West took a commanding 30-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Allen and Gonzales continued their strong play in the third quarter, helping spark a 6-0 run before Lansing finally broke through to make it 36-12.
The Chargers outscored the Lions 8-3 the rest of the period to extend the lead to 44-15 heading into the fourth quarter, triggering a running clock and all but sealing the victory.
The Chargers will return to action Friday at home against Leavenworth, a team they previously lost to 49-35 on the road.
“We just have to come out and keep playing Charger basketball,” Ketterman said. “The girls have been very focused here lately and we just have to stay focused.”
TOPEKA WEST 52, LANSING 16
Lansing (1-16, 1-10) -- Schneider 2-5 2-8 6, Swinson 2-4 0-0 5, Frederick 0-4 3-4 3, Hoins 0-5 0-0 0, McLilly 0-6 0-0 0, St. Clair 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 5-28 5-12 16.
Topeka West (5-13, 2-10) -- Gonzales 5-17 2-3 14, Allen 3-10 5-6 13, VanDyke 3-6 5-9 11, Hall 2-9 3-9 8, McGlory 0-3 0-0 0, Perkins 1-6 2-5 4, Traylor 1-4 0-0 2, Ogles 0-3 0-0 0, Kutina 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 15-65 15-32 52.
3-point goals -- Lansing 1 (Swinson). Topeka West 5 (Allen 2, Gonzales 2, Hall). Total fouls -- Lansing 17, Topeka West 19. Fouled out -- Hall.
